THE RAVEN KING, yoonkook

bonus content - tae's story: chapter i

NOTE: if you thought this storyline was over, so did I. But I was given some feedback? that a tae spin-off would be could and, while I can't give you that, I can give you a maybe two / three part mini-series covering the important plot points of our mysterious bird -- like how he lost his wings, how he got stuck in the position he was in & all that -- while also revealing a little bit more of the uncle's dastardly deeds

In addition to this, there'll also be an epilogue to conclude this story properly, so please stick around for this three / four-part revival—I've got exciting news (wait oh no that was supposed to be a surprise!)

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Taehyung had never liked sitting through the royal meetings. It was hard sitting in the smaller but still hard and uncomfortable throne that sat beside his father's, doing his best to stay still as he listened to the others' problems for hours and hours. His father would never ask for his input, never even acknowledge him during this time, but he said as a prince training to be a future king he had to attend these—it was good practice. So he suffered through it, as quietly as he could lest he receive a quick glare from his father and a harsh scolding later.

These meetings had used to be fun, when he was younger and his brother Taejoon was allowed to sit with him. He had been allowed to play around back then, barely even paying attention to the actual meeting. But, as they both got older, he got more responsibilities and his brother had to begin lessons.

Time passed slowly and Taehyung barely paid attention, drifting in and out of daydreams as he did his best to look like he was listening. Sometimes he would catch pieces of what they said, listening as peasants described their hardships. He didn't think some of it was fair, especially when it could so easily solved, but he had learnt a while ago that that was something best kept to himself. With a war going on, an attempt to become the strongest of the kingdoms, his father had more important things to focus on—resources had to be put towards that, meaning sometimes the smaller people had to suffer some losses for the greater win.

When the meeting finished, the other people returned to their warm, comfortable homes while Taehyung was forced to remain where he sat. His legs had fallen asleep, but stretching them was impossible without being scolded for fidgeting. His father claimed that he understood his pain, but the younger male had never seen him show any sign of discomfort. Maybe that was something that was taught with age.

Once everyone had left, a familiar crow entered the room. The uncle of the raven king, he frequently made visits to the hawk kingdom to give the king updates. It had been some time since they had seen him last, only receiving letters that Taehyung wasn't allowed to read. He was, however, allowed to listen. Listening, he had learnt, was just as important as ruling. It was important to listen, his father had told him; plenty of secrets lied behind words, if you were careful enough to pick them up.